NRA Press Conference - 12/21/2012

“Guns do not kill people, people kill people!!!!” If guns do not kill people, then neither do violent movies and video games.

“Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse. And here’s one: it’s called Kindergarten Killers”. Kindergarten Killer—the real culprit behind our nation's epidemic of gun violence. So sinister is this game that no one has ever heard of it, let alone played it. The NRA blames the media for that. Because when the media aren't busy corrupting our moral fiber by promoting violent entertainment, they're corrupting our moral fiber by not promoting violent entertainment. Remember, guns don't kill people, fictional guns kill people.

It’s the NRA’s position that the “deranged” target schools because the lack of guns there makes them the "safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk." The NRA’s solution? More guns in schools. Isn’t it ironic that in Kindergarten Killer, the game that supposedly turns kids into mass murderers, every single person in the school is armed and fires back?

“What about all the people who are mugged, at knife point, every day, should we force CUTCO to close its doors, and remove all knives from people's homes, and restaurants?” When was the last time someone killed 26 people with a knife in less than 5 minutes?

“Don't forget to mention the thousands of Americans that are SAVED each day by guns!” Like Trayvon Martin?

“Doctors kill people more frequently than guns! The CDC has the stats to prove it.“ Doctors kill intentionally, 26 at a time?

LIMBAUGH: And to the phones we go back now, this is open-line Friday. It's Olivia from Dallas. Great to have to on the EIB network. Hello.

CALLER: Hi, Rush!

LIMBAUGH: Hi.

CALLER: I wanted to ask you what Adam Lanza's political orientation is. Because the last time I remember there was a really politicized shooting, they were very quick to blame Sarah Palin. I'm talking about the 2011 Tucson shooting.

LIMBAUGH: Actually, the last time prior to this was the Dark Knight Rising --

CALLER: But it wasn't like a politicized --

LIMBAUGH: Oh, yes it was. ABC News tried to blame it on the Tea Party. Brian Ross tried to -- they found the guy's name, and the first thing they looked was the local Tea Party roster to see if they could find a name there. They found the same name, a different guy, and Brian Ross goes on Good Morning America and says we think this guy might be a member of the Tea Party.

CALLER: Right. So I'm wondering if all this talk about his background and his psychology, I wonder if they haven't unearthed what it was. Because I remember with Jared --

LIMBAUGH: Well, he was 13.

CALLER: He can still have political beliefs. But I remember with Jared Loughner, they said that he was a Republican and it turned out that he was actually quite liberal.

LIMBAUGH: They all are liberals. If they're mentally disturbed.

CALLER (laughing): Oh, that's not fair.

LIMBAUGH: You're right. That was - that's not -- that was -- I'm sorry. You're terribly right, terribly right. That's one of those things you just can't tell the truth about. You're right. I should not have said -- I take that back.

A Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting examination of tax records shows that five companies that make semi-automatic rifles have received more than $19 million in tax breaks, most within the past five years.

“I feel horrified at the power of the gun industry over our political system, that it could exert such influence,” said Newtown resident Barbara Richardson, who lives between the homes of one of the 6-year-old victims and the shooter.

The states providing the subsidies since 2003: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Oklahoma.

The types of subsidies include tax credits, grants, rebates, reimbursements for training and property tax abatements.

Since 1982, there have been at least 62 mass murders in 30 states using firearms. Assault weapons like the AR-15s were involved in more than half of those shootings.

In Maine, Smith & Wesson has received two types of tax subsidies. From 2008-2010, it received $107,120 from the Employment Tax Increment Financing, a program the state says encourages businesses to hire new employees by refunding from 30 to 80 percent of the state withholding taxes paid by the business for up to 10 years.

Smith & Wesson’s plant in Houlton also received $51,671 in abatements for property tax on its equipment under the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement program.

In 2010, Bushmaster was exempted from paying $2,405 in taxes on its business equipment under BETR.

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